Defective Butterfly Keyboard Payout Approved
US District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California, a federal court ruled in his court order that the settlement offered by Apple to the complainants is “fair, adequate, and reasonable.” Now that the payout has been deemed fair, the affected users will start receiving between $50 and $395 depending upon the repairs done on their faulty MacBook keyboards. For those who are unaware, Apple introduced the infamous Butterfly keyboard in the 12-inch MacBook in 2015 and it was later expanded to MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. Ever since its release, there were concerns about its reliability and durability. From 2015 to 2019, Apple tried improving the Butterfly keyboard after receiving complaints from users. Several reported keys getting stuck, double letters, or breaking keys altogether. Despite several revisions by Apple, users faced issues with keyboards across different generations and models of MacBooks. While Apple announced a free keyboard replacement program for the affected users as a respite. However, it faced severe criticism as the faulty keyboards were being replaced by Butterfly keyboards which could again fail in a similar fashion. In November 2022, a U.S. judge approved the payout of $50 million to MacBook Air, MacBook, and MacBook Pro users. There are three different groups – Group 1 consists of users who received at least two top case replacements from Apple within four years of purchase, Group 2 has received a single top case replacement from Apple and the third group consists of users who have got one or more keycap replaced from an Apple authorized service center within four years of purchase. There were certain challenges in the court case. In one of the sections, Apple was offering $125 to the affected users and some plaintiffs argued that it is insufficient as keyboard repairs can cost as much as $300. However, the judge ruled that the compensation offered by Apple is insufficient. “The possibility that a better settlement may have been reached — or that the benefits provided under the settlement will not make class members ‘whole’ — are insufficient grounds to deny approval,” wrote Judge Edward Davila in his court order. Also, Apple is offering compensation to those only who got their keyboard repaired even if they experienced issues with their MacBook’s keyboard. In response, Judge’s ruling said, “while not all who were purportedly injured will receive compensation, the settlement compromise benefits a significant number of individuals.”
